


The One Where Every Day Is Special

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Autumn, Central Park, Community: comment_fic, Established Relationship, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Rachel, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Walking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 09:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9229001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: It's just a normal day for them, and that's what makes it so perfect.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the comment_fic prompt: "Any, Any, proposing in the fall" (http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/782029.html?thread=101371341#t101371341)
> 
> For the purposes of this fic, Joey and Rachel never broke up or got back together at some point after the series finale.

It's just a normal day for them, and that's what makes it so perfect.  
  
Joey and Rachel are out for a weekend, daytime stroll at Central Park. The coffees that they got to go from Central Perk are keeping them warm, as are their clasped hands.  
  
Joey has been somewhat quieter than usual this afternoon, but when Rachel glances at him, she recognizes that he is thoughtful, but not sad. Rachel squeezes his hand a little tighter, and let her own mind drift as they wander through the park.  
  
Leaves crunch underneath their feet as they walk, and the trees are shaded with red, orange, brown, and gold. There's a slight breeze in the air, and Rachel isn't mystical like Phoebe, but she can almost sense a change in the air.  
  
As they're walking on Bow Bridge, a leaf lands on Rachel's head, and she giggles. The wind blows her hair over her eyes.  
  
Joey stops walking to pluck the wine-colored leaf out of Rachel's hair and he moves aside the hair that had been swept in front of Rachel's face.  
  
Rachel laughs again. "Thanks." The word is a meager substitute for how grateful she feels right now. Joey is always doing little things like that, taking care of her in the smallest and biggest of ways. Their relationship isn't all that different from when they were "just friends." There's been a minor, gradual shift where affection is now more freely given, now that both of them know they welcome it.  
  
Rachel watches as the leaf departs from Joey's hand, as it flutters in a skipping motion through the air, as gravity eventually forces it to land on the surface of the lake, as the same breeze that let it flutter carries it away from her sight. For so much of her life, Rachel has felt like a leaf, or some other small thing blown about by forces more powerful than she. But over the years, she's learned to defy gravity. And now, she doesn't think she will fall anytime soon.  
  
She turns to look at Joey again, who is staring at her in a contemplative manner. Part of Rachel wonders exactly what Joey sees when he looks at her. The way he gazes at her, with so much adoration and reverence, is unlike the way anyone else has ever looked at her. It's as if he sees something in her no one else could.  
  
His expression turns serious and somewhat nervous when he turns her so that she is facing him and can hold both of her hands in his.  
  
Joey smiles in that unique way he does only for her. "You know, Rach, I didn't know how I was going to do this. Until today. Nothing I had planned seemed special enough."  
  
Rachel's heart stops when she considers what Joey may have been planning. They've been together for over a year, so it's not totally out of the question.  _Is he...?_  
  
"I think the problem was, I didn't know how it all started. I know our first date helped me realize it, but I think it started before then. But I don't know how things changed. I don't think it started when I first saw you at the coffee house wearing that sopping wedding dress. I had no clue what you would come to mean to me back then. Maybe it happened after we started living together, but doing this at our apartment didn't seem romantic enough."  
  
_Oh my God, he is!_  Rachel's hands are starting to tremble, but she can't speak. She hopes she will be able to by the time Joey finishes his speech.  
  
Joey grins again. "But the thing is, it's always special with you. It's always special  _because_  of you. Before I fell in love with you, I didn't even know all of the things I would want. I didn't even think it was possible for me to feel this way, but you gave that to me, Rach. And before we were together, I didn't even know it was possible to be as happy as I am right now, every day, just walking with you in the park or whatever."  
  
Joey drops to one knee, and Rachel can't breathe. Her entire life is hanging on this on this one moment, on this one question.  
  
Joey takes a ring box out of his coat pocket, opens it, and holds it out to her. "I know it might be selfish to ask for anything more, but I'm asking. Rachel Karen Green, will you marry me?"

Rachel is nodding enough to resemble a bobblehead doll, and her grin feels like it could split her face in half. Everything looks blurry because she's starting to cry, but she's so, so happy. She takes a deep breath because she knows that Joey probably needs a verbal answer. "Yes! Yes! Of course."  
  
Rachel falls to her knees in front of Joey and embraces him tightly. She's so joyful that she kisses all over his face.  
  
Joey laughs. "Babe, I think we're doing this kind of backwards. I was supposed to put the ring on your finger first."  
  
Rachel shakes her head. "We wouldn't be us if we did things in the normal way." She holds out her left hand. "But yeah, let's go ahead and do that now."  
  
Joey slides the ring on her finger and just stares at it for a few seconds. "I can't believe this!" He looks ecstatic. "I'm marrying Rachel!"  
  
Rachel beams. "I know! I'm her!" She wraps her arms around Joey's neck to give him a passionate kiss.   
  
When she pulls back, an older woman is smiling as she walks past them. "Ah, young love." She smirks. "You might want to stand up at some point, you know."  
  
Rachel blushes. She and Joey are kind of in the way like this. Joey stands up first, and then he pulls Rachel up by the hand. Rachel shrieks when he pulls her into his arms and begins twirling her around. She feels lighter than air and so warm inside despite the cooler temperature outdoors.  
  
Eventually, Joey puts her down, but Rachel still feels like she's floating. "Did I make you dizzy?" he asks.  
  
Rachel smiles. "In the best way possible."  
  
Joey grabs her hand. "Come on, let's go home."  
  
Rachel grins and follows Joey's lead. They start to walk in a companionable silence until Joey speaks again. "You know, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."  
  
Rachel leans against Joey, and he wraps his arm around her. "Same for me."


End file.
